Friday, August 24, 2012

Snow leopard cubs first steps on exhibit

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications

Before they make their official debut to the public this Sat., August 25,
we gave our snow leopard cubs the chance to take their very first steps out
onto exhibit this week to get comfortable with their new surroundings.

On the first day that we gave 16-week-old cubs Asha and Shanti access
to the exhibit this week, they never stepped foot outside of their holding area!
This was likely due to a combination of their own shyness and their mother
Helen’s cautiousness. On day two, they didn’t do too much better. Keepers
eventually got them to go out into the exhibit but it lasted for just a few
short minutes and they ran back inside to their mother not to be seen again
that day.

Helen grooms her cub Asha. Photo by Ryan
Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo.

Finally, on day three of these soft introductions, we had success!
Helen led the way outside to the exhibit, checking things out to make sure all
was OK for her cubs. Asha was the first to follow mom out. Asha is the more
adventurous of the two sisters, so it was no surprise to see her slink out onto
exhibit behind mom, while Shanti stayed behind at the doorway, not quite ready
to make her move.

Asha explores her exhibit. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo.

It didn’t take long before Asha started exploring her new home. The spry little cub stalked around the rocks and hills of her exhibit as mom watched. Every now and then as she’d venture just a little too far away from mom, Asha would let out a little chirp to call out to her across the distance.

Cubs Asha and Shanti with their mother Helen. The face that Helen is making is known as the flehmen response, a common feline behavior where they make a grimace face to help them take in the scents around them. Photo by
Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo.

Those little chirps seemed to also attract her sister’s attention, and
eventually Shanti decided to brave the outdoors and join her mother and sister
out on exhibit. Shanti stayed close to her mother while Asha tried to goad her
into playing, jumping on her and padding all around.

Our keepers and exhibit crew have worked hard to make the exhibit
sight-impaired cub friendly. Both Asha and Shanti are blind in their right eye,
so provisions were made to create a safer environment for them including
removing low branches and padding some of the hilly grounds with hay to make a
softer landing for any tumbles.

Come at me, bro. Photo by Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo.

Watching the cubs navigate their way around the exhibit tells us a lot
about how well they’re seeing their environment. It’s clear that they are aware
of their surroundings and they did a great job of moving around the
complexities of their space—going up and down hills, jumping over rocks and
maneuvering around trees. Sometimes we see Asha move her head from side to
side, which appears to be a way she compensates for her impaired vision,
helping her to better take in her surroundings. Of course, their keen senses of
smell and hearing and their whisker-assisted tactile abilities also help them
navigate their surroundings. We think as they grow more comfortable in the
space, we’ll see the cubs venturing around more and more.

The sisters make their official public debut on Sat., August 25. Photo by Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo.

Now that they’ve had some practice out there, we're preparing to
officially debut the cubs this Sat., August 25. The girls will be given access
to the exhibit with their mother from noon to 3:00 p.m. daily starting this
Saturday. We hope you’ll head on out to the zoo to visit the family and share
your pics with us on Facebook and Twitter. See you out there!